He didn’t want to talk about getting standout pass rusher Von Miller back from suspension in time for the upcoming prime-time game at Indianapolis.

“That’s next week’s story,” he said.

And he certainly didn’t want to talk about facing the Jaguars for the first time since he was fired as coach 11 games into the 2011 season after nearly nine years on the job.

“It’s an opportunity to get our sixth win; that’s really what we’re after,” he said.

But surely, because enough time has passed since being fired, his affinity for running back Maurice Jones-Drew and other veteran players and his current team’s 5-0 start, Del Rio would be willing to have a brief chat with a Jacksonville reporter, right?

Nope.

A hand-shake on Thursday and a dismissive wave on Friday as he walked off the practice field was his way of refusing to speak to the Times-Union leading into Sunday’s game against the Jaguars.

The company line from the Broncos was that Del Rio “expressed his desire to keep things focused on his present role with the Broncos rather than extensively revisiting his time with the Jaguars.” It added that Del Rio was not doing any one-on-one interviews this week.

That left his comments during a group interview session to suffice.

He said Jones-Drew is “a real champion and a real stud.”

He called Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon “two talented receivers,” and quarterback Chad Henne “a veteran guy and very capable.”

He said he remains “very grateful for the opportunity [former owner Wayne Weaver] gave me back then.”

And he acknowledged Jacksonville “was a terrific place to raise my family, to live and be the head coach. A lot of great memories.”

The great were two playoff appearances (2005 and 2007) and Jones-Drew’s league rushing championship in 2011, although Del Rio was already out when that was clinched.

The not-so-great — and really, much re-hashing at this point is unnecessary — was only three winning seasons in nine years and throwing rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert into the mix before he was ready.

In Denver, Del Rio is reunited with John Fox. Fox hired Del Rio as Carolina’s defensive coordinator in 2003; one year later, Del Rio was hired by Weaver to replace Tom Coughlin with the Jaguars.

“Now I’m moved on; I’m here in Denver,” Del Rio told reporters. “I enjoy doing what I do and that is helping this defense be as good as it can be and helping this football team win games. That’s what I’m after right now.”

That left others to talk about Del Rio’s time with the Jaguars and impact on Denver’s defense.

When Dennis Allen left to become Oakland’s head coach after the 2011 season, Fox said it was an easy decision to call Del Rio. Some fired head coaches with time remaining on theircontract (Del Rio had one year, paid by Weaver even though Shad Khan had assumed ownership of the Jaguars) choose to sit out a season to decompress and regroup.

Del Rio jumped right back into the mix.

“We had a great visit,” Fox said. “I think he wanted to get back in it. Sometimes, you miss [the coaching part] as a head coach and a fun part is having a group of guys and molding them and watching them get better. As a head coach, you don’t get some of that daily stuff.”

That was on display during Friday’s practice. The Broncos’ defense started practice with a walk-through instead of individual drills and Del Rio was heavily involved in directing players to the proper positions on the field and giving them instructions for Sunday.

“Jack carries himself the same way he did in Jacksonville and that’s why guys like Jack,” said defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, who played three years for Del Rio with the Jaguars. “When he was the head coach, he would tell you how it was and when we were doing the right things, he was having a good time. He’s the same way as a coordinator.”

Last year, Del Rio’s defense was second in fewest yards and fourth in fewest points allowed per game.

This year, the Broncos are 29th in yards — including last against the pass, and tied for 25th in points.

But like many statistics, that’s misleading. The Broncos’ prolific offense has built leads of 34-17, 24-16, 30-14, 42-13 and 38-33 entering the fourth quarter this year.

“Where they are in pass defense is because everybody is just throwing it on every down to play catch-up ball,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said.

The defensive focus in the Denver camp this week has been on themselves and not the huge point-spread against the Jaguars. That process started Monday when the defense watched the Dallas game tape without the coaches in the room.

“We have leaders on this team — [linebacker] Wesley Woodyard is probably the best leader I’ve been around,” Knighton said. “He stood up and told the defense, ‘That was unacceptable. Yeah, we’ve got Peyton Manning and all these guys, but we have to do our part.’ ”

If the Broncos’ success continues, Del Rio’s name will be linked to other openings, but as his strategy with the media showed this week, his focus — and the players’ focus — is on the present and getting to the Super Bowl.

“We don’t want to be a team where we had to rely on Peyton to get there,” Knighton said. “We have to do our part.”